Hi my name is Christine, My OCD obsessions are based around fear of doing something wrong and going to jail even know I have no history of ever doing anything wrong , mmost of my obsessions are value based and fear of punishment, no one will understand its my OCD and not me. I have had OCD for 30 years. Have tried and continue with outpatient therapy, Finished with 36 treatments of TMS . CBT, ERP, and unfortunately have Seratonin syndrome and cannot take SSRI'S, I continue treatment 2 times a week and after 30 years will be quitting my job as an RN as OCD has and continues to take a toll on me. Thank you for letting me join and blessings to those who suffer like me.

Hey Christine. Fear of punishment is constant across a few of my themes. Not only prison but the shame that goes with it, the idea of being judged and misunderstood by everybody and left alone and disappointing people. Ugh. I do a lot of memory checking for stuff I've done wrong. And unfortunately, I find plenty, especially from my teen years. I try to take an approach that every day is a gift, even if my life will be ruined next week I would rather spend the time til then living than ruminating just so that I'm "prepared". I also try to share things I'm worried about with friends and family, while avoiding doing so as a confession compulsion. It brings me comfort to know that they'd love me anyway. I could be in jail and I'd still be loved and visited and written to lol. When I'm very upset and scared I also try to see the potential upsides of it, like lots of structure, lots of personal time and very few responsibilities. Many people leave prison and make success out of their lives and their stories. Rock bottom can be a great place to build a zen, values-driven life from. In a sense, it's freedom. I guess my point is that I manage it by reminding myself that I can handle things going wrong and largely can't prevent them, especially not by worrying, by sharing my concerns with others (once, not repeatedly) so I'm not so along in them, and by looking for silver linings. If it gives you any comfort, I can promise if your worst fears somehow happened, I'd write to you in jail and visit you when I could. You'd still have your mind and your choices, and I quite imagine that you'd make a success even out of that.

i hear you, i have ongoing obsessions and compulsions related to my parents going to jail (although they’ve done nothing wrong either), but i promise it will get better for the both of us!! ❤️

I've even had a lawyer that my therapist thought would ease my worries talk to me, he told me no worries, all my what if fears are under ocd umbrella, I need to believe that, but my scrambled brain chooses not to , OCD is so irritating.